...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!
By: Maynard Sweeney, MMATorch Contributor This article will be the first in a series of daily releases counting down the top thirty fights of 2008. We will release a new article each day starting from #30 all the way up until the end of the month.
Top 30 Fights of 2008: #30
Seth "The Silverback" Petruzelli vs. Kevin "Kimbo Slice" Ferguson
EliteXC: Heat 10/04/2008
I know what you're thinking. You're wondering why any MMA writer compiling a top thirty fights of the year list would ever even consider placing the eternally-controversial, freakishly strange fight between Seth Petruzelli and Kimbo Slice on their list. So before you write me off and start putting together your hate mail for me, give me a minute or two to provide justification.
The eve of EliteXC: Heat was a strange, strange night for mixed martial arts. The fights weren't overly exciting, and the card wasn't overflowing with talent. Regardless of those facts, it can be guaranteed that the events that transpired all the way up through and beyond the headliner will be remembered by MMA fans for years to come.
Originally scheduled to face UFC hall of famer Ken Shamrock, Kimbo Slice was thrown a loop when he was informed that Shamrock was injured, and he would be given the option to face an as-of-yet unnamed mystery fighter.
Up until that point, Slice had compiled three wins against less than stellar competition. He had easily disposed of one of MMA's perpetual cans, Bo Cantrell. Next up for the street fighter gone martial artist was an out of shape, far over the hill David "Tank" Abbott; who had his trademark beer belly handed to him on a silver platter via Kimbo's fist after gassing thirty seconds into the very first round. Finally, Kimbo had defeated James Thompson in a highly controversial three round match, in which we saw the now infamous Dan Miragliotta allow the fight to continue after Kimbo was eating leather for a solid minute off his back; only to later win by TKO; a TKO which many, as well as this writer, believe to have been called unjustifiably early.
After Frank Shamrock offered to step in for his adoptive brother, the suits at EliteXC decided to pull light heavyweight and subsequent Ultimate Fighter 2 alumni Seth Petrezulli from his already scheduled fight against Aaron Rosa to face Kimbo in the event's headline fight. Can't get any stranger than that, right?
Wrong.
After a sloppy charge by Kimbo and a well placed jab by "The Silverback," Gary Shaw's money making machine lay flat on his back as Petrezulli ran around the ring screaming in amazement after his sudden, Rocky Balboa-esque rise from undercard fighter to main event winner.
This fight truly went to show that not just any guy or girl off the street can jump in the ring or cage and bang with the best. It's called mixed martial arts for a reason: martial artists compete in the sport. Kimbo might have beaten every tough guy from Seattle to LA to a bloody pulp, but street smarts and backyard brawl experience doesn't mean a whole hell of a lot when you have Mr. Muay Thai throwing his shin across your teeth, or Mr. Jiu Jitsu taking your arm home for a trophy.
In ten years, people will remember this fight for what it is: the legitimacy of trained fighters proving once and for all that they're just that, trained professionals. For years, Bible belt America has been calling our great sport "human cock fighting." John McCain himself said years ago that he saw no legitimacy in a sport that took crooks off the street to pound each other's faces in.
Seth Petrezulli, while virtually unknown at the time, showed the whole world that MMA is more than just big, scary bar room brawlers getting in the cage each weekend. Because as soon as a big, scary bar room brawler got in the cage against a real mixed martial artist, he was picking his teeth up off of the canvas and it was back to fighting behind the shed at his buddy's house.
Petrezulli confirmed what we've all been saying for years: MMA is a real sport which requires extreme levels of talent to participate in. Thanks, Seth. We owe you one. Now go punch Kurt Angle in the head for us.
Stay tuned for #29 of the MMATorch Top 30 Fights of 2008, which will be revealed with a full article tomorrow.
Here's a short bio for our newest contributor, Maynard Sweeney:
Name:
Well, my real name is Mike Sweeney. But I go by my middle name, Maynard. That stupid Kansas City Royals player beat me to it, so I dropped the Mike part.
Age:
My parents tell me I'm twenty. I disagree.
Location:
I live right outside of Boston, but was born in Southie. You know, The Departed, Boondock Saints, Mystic River. That's how I got this writing gig. I used a little bit of Irish muscle and threw Whitey's name around. Now I have a pine desk and corner office at the MMATorch headquarters. My secretary's pretty hot, too.
Mixed Martial Arts history:
Well, I started training Karate when I was five. I lasted at the school until I got bored of it when I was nine. I switched over to a kickboxing school, and have been training that ever since. I can't really remember a time when I didn't train. By sixteen I added grappling to the equation. I also began teaching kickboxing at that same age (to kids), and still teach part time today. My best bud trains at ATT Boston, and I've rolled with them a few times. Hopefully, if the money comes my way, I'll start training there full time as well.
I got into MMA around 2000, and the first fight I ever saw was BJ Penn vs. Caol Uno (first fight). I figured every fight would be as freakishly violent as that one, and was instantly hooked. I got more into PRIDE when the UFC dropped their lightweight division, as I was and still am a pretty small, yet scrappy kid. So I was more interested in watching the little dudes bang around. These days I'm down with everything though.
Other:
Well, I'm a pretty simple, laid back dude. I'm proudly MMA's "other" vegan (there you go, Mac. Now you're not the only one), and am an absolute psycho about what I eat to the point of it not even being cool. I hike a real lot, and usually head out into the woods first thing in the morning, since I'm ALWAYS inexplicably up at the crack of dawn. I've been writing my whole life, and do a lot of poetry, journalism, and short stories. I've been insultingly labeled a hippie by all my friends, but I take it with a smile and happily embrace it. I love all things martial arts, and it is my personal goal to fight the ghost of every MMA legend when I myself die. Other than that, the rest is up to you to find out. I have to maintain some semblance of mysteriousness. Anyone can e-mail me at Molpadiia@GMail.com if you've got a gripe or just want to talk.
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